John le Carre is recognized as the premier spy novelist of our time. This study suggests that le Carre uses the spy novel as a vehicle to explore human identity and analyzes the theme of redemptive love, a motivating force, which contributes meaning to otherwise empty lives. / Le Carre's novels are modern tragedies, and the values of the heart are extremely vulnerable in a world dominated by power struggles on political and personal levels. Thematically, love is an important element in all of le Carre's novels, but it is the central motif in the three novels of this study. / In The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, it is Alec Leamas' assertion of his love for Liz Gold that brings about his defeat through death at the Berlin Wall in the final lines of the novel. Similarly, in The Honourable Schoolboy, it is Jerry Westerby's discovery of his love for Lizzie Worthington that causes him to return to Hong Kong in defiance of orders from Circus which also leads to his death. In le Carre's recent novel, The Russia House, the hero, Barley Blair, is also motivated by his love for and commitment to Katya, and his inner heart tells him that this commitment is of more value than his obligations to finish the mission forced upon him by British Intelligence. In each of these novels, the theme of redemptive love becomes the unifying element. / Le Carre's novels reflect his vision that it is almost impossible to be fully human in a society where institutions have lost all touch with individual feelings. Le Carre's philosophy of love as a redeeming force, despite the perils involved, is a powerful testimony of his faith in humanity. The fact that his novels offer courage and hope for our time places John le Carre among the ranks of such writers as Joseph Conrad and Graham Greene as a profoundly significant contemporary novelist. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-04, Section: A, page: 1343. / Major Professor: Fred L. Standley. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76382 |
| Contributors | Powell, Cheryl C., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 167 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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